F&D Defense has recently announced that the first rifle utilizing their folding technology is now available for purchase. It is called XAR Invicta and is chambered in 5.56x45mm / .223 Remington. This folding mechanism was announced earlier this year and was initially shown on an AR-10 pattern rifle.

The MSRP for a complete XAR Invicta rifle is $2,499.99. It is available in two color options – black or FDE. It also can be purchased either with 16″ or 14.5″ barrel. In case of the 14.5″ barrel choice, it will come with a pinned and welded muzzle device. You can also send them your muzzle device of choice and they’ll pin and weld it onto the 14.5″ barrel.

As you may remember from our earlier coverage of this system, the F&D Defense XAR rifle has a hinge mechanism on the upper receiver which allows the barrel and the handguard to fold to the rifle’s left side. The locking mechanism is sort of a tension latch which looks to be a pretty rigid construction. When folded, a socket on the forearm engages a detent on the upper receiver to prevent unintentional unfolding.

Of course, no matter how well it is built, it can’t be as rigid as the conventional fixed barrel. However, everything has its tradeoffs. If you want to fold in half your AR-15 and make it easily fit into your backpack, then maybe you’ll be ok to sacrifice a little bit of rigidity.